Arts & Life

FASHIONxt 2012 Profile: Designer Becky Ross

FASHIONxt - Fashion Designer Becky Ross

If you are up on fashion, then the name Becky Ross will probably ring a bell. Ross shot into the spotlight after her casting in last year’s season of Project Runway. Since then, the Portlander has been busy working in all facets of the design world, from fashion, to film, to retail.

As Portland’s fashion week approaches, Ross has been gearing up for her latest collection’s runway debut.

This year, fashion week will feature “FASHIONxt,” a presentation of both runway couture and innovations from the broader world of design including electric bikes, iPad docking stations and more. The goal is to create continuity between the two worlds by marrying them into one “fashion-forward lifestyle.” (For more on this new direction, see our interview with FASHIONxt Executive Producer Tito Chowdhury.)

Ross’ take on fashion forward is actually to look back. As you might imagine, a designer as prolific as Ross has amassed quite a variety of fabrics, hardware and material over the course of her career. So this year, instead of acquiring more fabric for her new collection, Ross accepted the challenge of using material that she already had on hand. The result is a retrospective collage of sorts, a look back at themes she has explored in the past, but with a look towards what it means to be fashion forward in the Northwest.

You can see Ross’ collection on the runway during FASHIONxt on Thursday, October 11 at Vigor Industrial Shipyard.